By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning Something significant is stirring in the financial services world. This week, Aegon launched its Money:Mindshift campaign — a conscious attempt to challenge the traditional, transactional model of financial advice. Led by Dr Tom Mathar, the campaign invites us to move beyond the numbers and reconnect with what … Continue reading From Transaction to Transformation: Why Aegon’s ‘Money:Mindshift’ Campaign Is a Step in the Right Direction
Tag: finance
Are Finfluencers the Real Problem? Or Just the Easier One to Prosecute?
By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning When the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) parades its efforts to clamp down on “finfluencers,” we should ask: are they tackling the real threats to financial integrity—or just chasing headlines? On June 10th, FCA Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi appeared before the Treasury Committee, defending the regulator’s proactive stance … Continue reading Are Finfluencers the Real Problem? Or Just the Easier One to Prosecute?
One Rule for SJP? Why We Must Question Who Teaches Our Children About Money
When your CEO sits on the CityUK Leadership Council and co-authors the Mansion House Accord, what can you get away with? Apparently, quite a lot. If your firm’s fee-for-no-service scandal gets waved away by regulators more interested in growth than justice…If your calls to deregulate are echoed by the Treasury while whistleblower complaints are ignored…If … Continue reading One Rule for SJP? Why We Must Question Who Teaches Our Children About Money
Financial “Growth” Authority: Says “Risk Is Good”? The Language of a Captured Regulator
By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning "Risk is good," proclaims the watchdog. But when the guard dog starts wagging its tail at the City, who’s protecting the public? Last week, FT Adviser reports that at the Global Management Summit, Simon Walls—Executive Director of Markets at what is still officially called the Financial Conduct … Continue reading Financial “Growth” Authority: Says “Risk Is Good”? The Language of a Captured Regulator
Financial Education in Schools: Why the Law Must Change
By Steve Conley, Founder of the Academy of Life Planning Early Investment: Why Human Capital Matters Most At the Academy of Life Planning, we advocate for a definition of wealth that goes beyond bank balances. The CFA Institute’s 2024 study Lifetime Financial Advice: A Personalized Optimal Multilevel Approach defines total wealth as: Total Wealth = … Continue reading Financial Education in Schools: Why the Law Must Change
🧭 India Just Drew a Line — Should the UK Follow?
SEBI, India’s financial regulator, has made a bold and principled move: disentangling financial advice from product distribution. It ruled that Mutual Fund Distributors (MFDs) must not describe themselves as “financial advisers” or “planners” unless they’re formally registered as fee-only fiduciaries (RIAs). Why? Because doing so misleads the public, confuses roles, and masks conflicts of interest. … Continue reading 🧭 India Just Drew a Line — Should the UK Follow?
The Great Advice Divide: Why Boomers Delegate and Zillennials Demand Empowerment
💸 £5.5 trillion is about to walk out the door. That’s the estimated value of assets traditional advice firms could lose over the next decade as wealth transfers from Boomers to Zillennials. "The future doesn’t belong to those who manage wealth—it belongs to those who know how to grow it, use it, and share it … Continue reading The Great Advice Divide: Why Boomers Delegate and Zillennials Demand Empowerment
Is Bitcoin Helping You Unmask the Robbers, or Is It Just Another Mask?
By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning In Your Money or Your Life: Unmask the Highway Robbers, we expose a powerful truth: that much of today’s financial system is not built to serve you—it’s built to extract from you. Through a combination of debt, distraction, and dependency, the wealth of the many is siphoned … Continue reading Is Bitcoin Helping You Unmask the Robbers, or Is It Just Another Mask?
From Down Under to the FTSE: SJP Practice Valuations Echo AMP’s Collapse
By Steve Conley, Academy of Life Planning The latest revelations in FT adviser about St. James’s Place (SJP) practice valuations bring into sharp focus the vulnerability of advisers operating under vertically integrated models. The reported 45% drop in practice values within SJP’s internal Business Sale and Purchase (BSP) scheme mirrors what happened at AMP in … Continue reading From Down Under to the FTSE: SJP Practice Valuations Echo AMP’s Collapse
The Scandal No One Wants to Own: How My Pension Was Stolen and the System Turned Away
Gary Today Retired British Expat | Pension Justice Advocate | Community Supporter Gary is a retired British national now living in a rural Thai village with his long-term partner and her family. By the way his partners name is Aranya, but everyone calls her Aulie. A former professional who lost everything due to pension fund … Continue reading The Scandal No One Wants to Own: How My Pension Was Stolen and the System Turned Away
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